Abstract
Prokaryotes contribute to the health of marine sponges. However, there is lack of data on the assembly rules of sponge-associated prokaryotic communities, especially for those inhabiting biodiversity hotspots, such as ecoregions between tropical and warm temperate southwestern Atlantic waters. The sympatric species Aplysina caissara, Axinella corrugata, and Dragmacidon reticulatum were collected along with environmental samples from the north coast of São Paulo (Brazil). Overall, 64 prokaryotic phyla were detected; 51 were associated with sponge species, and the dominant were Proteobacteria, Bacteria (unclassified), Cyanobacteria, Crenarchaeota, and Chloroflexi. Around 64% and 89% of the unclassified operational taxonomical units (OTUs) associated with Brazilian sponge species showed a sequence similarity below 97%, with sequences in the Silva and NCBI Type Strain databases, respectively, indicating the presence of a large number of unidentified taxa. The prokaryotic communities were species-specific, ranging 56%–80% of the OTUs and distinct from the environmental samples. Fifty-four lineages were responsible for the differences detected among the categories. Functional prediction demonstrated that Ap. caissara was enriched for energy metabolism and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, whereas D. reticulatum was enhanced for metabolism of terpenoids and polyketides, as well as xenobiotics’ biodegradation and metabolism. This survey revealed a high level of novelty associated with Brazilian sponge species and that distinct members responsible from the differences among Brazilian sponge species could be correlated to the predicted functions.
Highlights
Prokaryotes contribute to the health of marine sponges
The main questions in this study were (i) whether DNA barcoding was capable of separating the sponge species, (ii) whether the prokaryotic communities associated with the sponge species can be distinguished from the ones detected in the environmental samples, (iii) whether the sponge species exhibited host specificity, (iv) which prokaryotic lineages are responsible for the variability detected in the categories, and (v) which predicted functional patterns are enriched in each category
For Ap. caissara and D. reticulatum, these were the first cob sequences reported and, as such, no prior sequence of this gene was available from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) for comparison
Summary
Prokaryotes contribute to the health of marine sponges. there is lack of data on the assembly rules of sponge-associated prokaryotic communities, especially for those inhabiting biodiversity hotspots, such as ecoregions between tropical and warm temperate southwestern Atlantic waters. The sympatric species Aplysina caissara, Axinella corrugata, and Dragmacidon reticulatum were collected along with environmental samples from the north coast of São Paulo (Brazil). To assess the importance of deterministic components for prokaryotic community assembly in southwestern Atlantic, three common sponge species from São Paulo state were investigated This coastal area has approximately 600 km of extension, divided into littoral south and north, and encompasses the transition between tropical and warm temperate southwestern Atlantic marine e coregions[21]. This region is considered one of the most significant benthic biodiversity hotspots and ecosystem services globally but is relatively unknown. The main questions in this study were (i) whether DNA barcoding was capable of separating the sponge species, (ii) whether the prokaryotic communities associated with the sponge species can be distinguished from the ones detected in the environmental samples, (iii) whether the sponge species exhibited host specificity, (iv) which prokaryotic lineages are responsible for the variability detected in the categories, and (v) which predicted functional patterns are enriched in each category
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